Dell XPS M2010 Owner's Manual

Also see for XPS M2010: Setup guide Owner's manual Setup guide Service manual Service manual

Contents

memory mapping — The process by which the computer assigns memory addresses to physical locations at start-up. Devices and software can then identifyinformation that the processor can access.memory module — A small circuit board containing memory chips, which connects to the system board.MHz — megahertz — A measure of frequency that equals 1 million cycles per second. The speeds for computer processors, buses, and interfaces are oftenmeasured in MHz.modem — A device that allows your computer to communicate with other computers over analog telephone lines. Three types of modems include: external, PCCard, and internal. You typically use your modem to connect to the Internet and exchange e-mail.module bay — See media bay.ms — millisecond — A measure of time that equals one thousandth of a second. Access times of storage devices are often measured in ms.Nnetwork adapter — A chip that provides network capabilities. A computer may include a network adapter on its system board, or it may contain a PC Card withan adapter on it. A network adapter is also referred to as a NIC (network interface controller).NIC — See network adapter.notification area — The section of the Windows taskbar that contains icons for providing quick access to programs and computer functions, such as the clock,volume control, and print status. Also referred to as system tray.ns — nanosecond — A measure of time that equals one billionth of a second.NVRAM — nonvolatile random access memory — A type of memory that stores data when the computer is turned off or loses its external power source. NVRAMis used for maintaining computer configuration information such as date, time, and other system setup options that you can set.Ooptical drive — A drive that uses optical technology to read or write data from CDs, DVDs, or BDs. Examples of optical drives include CD drives, DVD drives, CD-RW drives, CD-RW/DVD combo drives, and BD drives.Pparallel connector — An I/O port often used to connect a parallel printer to your computer. Also referred to as an LPT port.partition — A physical storage area on a hard drive that is assigned to one or more logical storage areas known as logical drives. Each partition can containmultiple logical drives.PC Card — A removable I/O card adhering to the PCMCIA standard. Modems and network adapters are common types of PC Cards.PCI — peripheral component interconnect — PCI is a local bus that supports 32-and 64-bit data paths, providing a high-speed data path between theprocessor and devices such as video, drives, and networks.PCI Express — A modification to the PCI interface that boosts the data transfer rate between the processor and the devices attached to it. PCI Express cantransfer data at speeds from 250 MB/sec to 4 GB/sec. If the PCI Express chip set and the device are capable of different speeds, they will operate at theslower speed.PCMCIA — Personal Computer Memory Card International Association — The organization that establishes standards for PC Cards.PIO — programmed input/output — A method of transferring data between two devices through the processor as part of the data path.pixel — A single point on a display screen. Pixels are arranged in rows and columns to create an image. A video resolution, such as 800 x 600, is expressed asthe number of pixels across by the number of pixels up and down.Plug-and-Play — The ability of the computer to automatically configure devices. Plug-and-Play provides automatic installation, configuration, and compatibilitywith existing hardware if the BIOS, operating system, and all devices are Plug-and-Play compliant.POST — power-on self-test — Diagnostics programs, loaded automatically by the BIOS, that perform basic tests on the major computer components, such asmemory, hard drives, and video. If no problems are detected during POST, the computer continues the start-up.processor — A computer chip that interprets and executes program instructions. Sometimes the processor is referred to as the CPU (central processing unit).PS/2 — personal system/2 — A type of connector for attaching a PS/2-compatible keyboard, mouse, or keypad.PXE — pre-boot execution environment — A WfM (Wired for Management) standard that allows networked computers that do not have an operating system tobe configured and started remotely.RRAID — redundant array of independent disks — A method of providing data redundancy. Some common implementations of RAID include RAID 0, RAID 1,RAID 5, RAID 10, and RAID 50.